Legislation that redefines the funding formula for K-through-12 schools is now state law, after the Missouri House overrode Governor Jay Nixon’s veto on Thursday.
The new law caps at 5 percent part of the formula used to decide how much state money schools get each year. The change means public schools will only be 54 million dollars short of being fully funded instead of being 400 million short.
Democrat Judy Morgan of Kansas City said lawmakers are turning their backs on Missouri’s children.
"We’re just lowering the target for educating our kids, we’re putting less money into the formula…policy decisions have been made, promises to school districts about their amount of funding, but these promises have been broken to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars," Morgan said.
Republicans defended the cuts, saying you can’t lose money that you never had to begin with.